September 25, 2014

Maggie Holmes Design has been in need of a fresh updated look and I couldn't be happier with the new site!!

From now on I will be blogging at my new blog: www.maggieholmesdesign.com/blog. I hope you will move over with me (and be sure to adjust your feed subscriptions) so that you can continue to follow along with me and my amazing design team! We are working harder than ever to bring you inspiration and creative ideas on a weekly basis!!

A big thanks goes out to Life Made Lovely for making the design and development process super easy and also quick!! I asked her to create a fresh clean look that incorporated some of the design elements from my product line and what she created is exactly what I had in mind!!

February 21, 2013

I don't always have the time to get to all of the photos that I take of my kiddos which means I usually have quite the backlog!

Even though I have my post processing workflow down to a science, it still takes time and life keeps moving along at lighting speed. I wish there was a way to snap my fingers and have all my photos sorted, processed, edited, backed up and printed in an instant!

I'll keep wishing, but for now I wanted to share some older photos that I was editing this week.

I love this last one of all of them. Nathan just looks exactly like him with his chin resting on his hand like that without me even telling him to. And Matthew was being so attentive to Lizzy Kate, making sure that she was ok and trying to hold her just right. He has always been so nurturing and careful and sweet with her.

Going back through all of these has made me even more thankful that:

1......I have this huge backlog of photos in the first place. I'd rather have a backlog than no photos at all!

2.....I am able to capture and photograph these moments of my kiddos. There is nothing greater than having all of these photos that depict them and their cute personalities at each age of their lives.

3.....I learned how to use a DSLR all those years ago, so that I can not only snap away whenever I want but do it with confidence that the pictures will turn out!

I've already sent this batch to be printed and can't wait to get them back so I can start scrapbooking with them!

January 07, 2013

This is the LAST TIME I will be teaching this class online in its current format with the private message board and opportunity to turn in your assignments for personal individualized feedback. Also this is the LAST opportunity to take the class where you can post your messages on the board and get direct and detailed answers, explanations, individual help etc.

If you have been wanting to take the class, it's now or never!!

There will also be one LAST Advanced Class which is now open for registration as well and starts March 4th, 2013.

I've had lots wondering if they could still register for the Photography 101 Class even though it starts today. The answer is YES! I am holding registration open for a few more days since this is the LAST time I am teaching it online and I don't want anyone to miss out. There are no assignments for the first week so it is easy to jump in and catch right up if you register quick!!

No worries, I am not going anywhere.... just making room for some other BIG things that are happening in my life right now! More details on that coming very soon!!

And because I can't post without a picture, here are a couple of Lizzy Kate that I am swooning over this week! I want her to stay little!!! I die for her cute chubby cheeks and this age! It is my very favorite age!!! Photos taken last year on her birthday in the dress that I made her!

September 20, 2012

If you follow me on Instagram, you may have noticed that we are in the process of moving.

Not my most fun of activities but it is still exciting to start fresh in a new house and neighborhood. Organizing everything and finding new homes for all of my decorations is challenging and fun at the same time!

In light of the move I thought it would be fun to do a "moving" sale!

Everything on my site is 20% off -- that includes my online photography workshops, my photoshop actions and my boxes of scrapbooking products.

My next Online Photography Class starts October 1st so now is the time to sign up! The discount will expire on September 26th or when the class size limit is reached, whichever comes first.

I have added some MORE scrapbooking product boxes for sale on my site.... I have more boxes of everything (papers & embellishments), some boxes of PAPER only and some boxes of EMBELLISHMENTS only!! There are a limited number of these and when they are gone they are gone. I am clearing out a lot more product while I organize and put things away! Lots of great things in there!!

You can also use the discount on my Photoshop Actions. If you are wondering what actions are all about, I did a post about them recently. You can find it here: How to Use Photoshop Actions to Edit Your Photos.

To purchase any of the above and use the discount code, go to my website:

Discount can be used on as many products as you would like. Discount code expires September 26th. Code must be entered at time of checkout to receive the discount. Refunds will NOT be given for codes not entered. Discount does NOT apply to products previously purchased.

The scrapbooking supply boxes can be found under the category: Design Tools.

Hi there! Popping in to share some photos from one of the sessions that I had up in Utah over the summer. I have been photographing this family for a few years now and it is always a pleasure to see them, catch up and take their pictures.

My favorite part about this session is that this little guy woke up the next morning and asked if he could go see me again! That's what I call a successful photo shoot!!

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Also there are still some spots open in my next Online Photography Workshop: Photography 101.

Class starts October 1st! You will be all set to go in time to capture amazing photos for the holidays!

In the 101 class you will learn things like aperture, shutter speed, ISO, metering, exposure, basic lighting, posing, creativity and composition..... It's really everything you need to get going -- whether you are just barely starting to figure out your camera or you have been shooting for a while but are still nervous to go into manual mode. This is the class for you!

You can find all of the details about the class and the link to register right on my website:

Oh and don't forget about the private message board. That is where you can post all of your weekly assignments and get individualized and detailed feedback and constructive critiques on your photos. You can also ask me questions the entire time on the message board as well as chat with the other students in the class. "See" you in class!!

August 03, 2012

I get a lot of emails from people wondering what exactly actions are and how they work.

An action is a preset series of steps that is already recorded in Photoshop that allows you to quickly and easily alter or edit your photos. Not only is it time-saving but it opens up a whole new world of creativity with your photos.

Here are some examples of what my different actions will look like after they are run on your photos.

Original Photo:

Urban Cool Action:

Sun Kissed Action:

It's kind of like an Instagram Filter but you run these in Photoshop on your regular photos! Fun right? But one of the best things about my actions is that you can adjust the amount of the effect so you can keep it really natural and subtle or you can make it really strong and bold. I have adjusted the opacity of the effect on both of the above photos because I like to see the effect but I also like to keep my photos looking nice and natural. You can see all of my actions and examples of each one on my website here.

She eats all baby foods and loves her mush the most - rice cereal with something else mixed in.

She loves the bath!

She is scooting all around on her tummy like a little inch worm and rarely stays in one place anymore.

She loves her binky and loves to take it out, play with it and then put it back in.

She just started sleeping in her crib upstairs and is doing really well but we miss her in our room and miss how she would peek up at us over her bassinet in the mornings with a HUGE happy smile.

She babbles and says the sounds mamamama and bababababa.

She LOVES her daddy a LOT and lights up whenever he talks to her.

She loves being entertained by all the action going on around her from her brothers and sister. She loves when they clap for her and she really loves when Emily sings and dances for her.

She is at the stage where she is grabbing at everything in her path all the time no matter what it is and then it goes right to her mouth!

She sleeps best when we put her in bed with her binky and blanket and leave her. She doesn't fall asleep in our arms much at all anymore but does like to cuddle when she is awake.

She has a really high pitched little singing voice that she does a lot which is soooo cute. And then sometimes it turns into a really LOUD almost screaming, yet happy, voice in the car when she is trying to keep up with all the talking from everyone else.

She is a major cat napper in the day and usually doesn't nap for very long periods of time. But she always wakes up happy as a clam!

Her hair is still crazy and is super long only on the top. It is starting to come in more on the sides and in the back though. We love how her long hair on the top sticks up and literally flies in the wind when she doesn't have a headband on! It has always been so funny!

She has the SOFTEST skin ever!

She is quite chunky and one of her nicknames is chunkers. She has the cutest rolls on her legs and she has love handles which I love to squeeze!

Her other nicknames are Lizzy Kate, EK, bubbers, bubbas, cuters and punkin sis.

We love love love her to pieces!

Photos are from a quick impromptu "photo shoot" (as in about 5 minutes long) when I was out to breakfast with my mom for her birthday. She was more interested in looking at the wood floor and putting her finger in the little holes than smiling for me! I die for her cheeks and her hands that are so chubby she has dimples in them!

October 19, 2011

Heading back up to Utah for SPARK this weekend! I will be demoing and selling the latest Studio Calico products including the mists, masks and stamp sets!! I hope to see you there!!

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In case you missed it, my NEW WEBSITE is now live!! Please go there to purchase my PHOTOSHOP ACTIONS (for the most current versions) and to register for my ONLINE PHOTOGRAPHY CLASSES! We are in the middle of my last class for 2011 but I have some 2012 classes open for registration already and people are signing up!! It's the perfect thing to put on your Christmas wishlist.... just make sure to give your list to your hubby or mom or best friend early so you get signed up before it fills up!

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It rained a lot and even SNOWED when I was up in Utah with my kiddos for fall break! They sure loved making snow balls and playing in it but I was a little upset that it interfered with my plans for taking LOTS of pictures while we were there at all my favorite Utah locations! I had even scouted out some new ones that I wanted to try but it didn't happen so I guess it will have to wait! Boo!

On our way out of town..... literally...... we stopped really QUICK to take some last minute pictures. I haven't even looked through all of them but I just saw this one and had to open it and do a quick edit. I am in LOVE with the COLOR and the KISSES!! These two are like 2 peas in a pod -- very similar personalities!! When they are not driving me a wee bit crazy with their ENDLESS energy, they are making me smile and laugh and they most definitely always make me feel LOVED!

Hope you have a colorful weekend!! If you need some creative inspiration come see me at SPARK!!!

October 01, 2011

Hi everyone! Life is in full crazy busy mode right now and it seems like it won't slow down now until the new year! Ha!! Feels funny saying that but it is so true! Doesn't this time of year start to feel like a whirlwind? I know that for me it does..... fall break, fall photo sessions, halloween, thanksgiving and then christmas.... they all tend to come at me so quickly! I often wish there was a little more breathing room in between the holidays this time of year so that I could really savor and enjoy it all!

I'm definitely one that likes to stay focused on what is truly important in my life and so I try to not lose sight of that, especially during this time of year. Life is definitely a big juggling act -- trying to make time for the fun and crazy times but at the same time balance it with the quiet and still moments because those are super important too. It's funny this notion of balancing all of this because there are many moments when I am grateful and content to be in the middle of the chaos, hearing my kids laugh and play (and also fight of course although I'm not really grateful for the fighting) and then there are also many moments when we are being quiet and peaceful and I am oh so grateful for those times too because they really really make me happy and I feel like we can grow together and learn from each other in a deeper way.

Anyway, not sure where all of this reflectiveness is coming from but in an effort to get back to adding more of my personal life records here on the blog I just went with whatever came to mind.....I thought I was getting on here to post one thing and it turned out to be something completely different. I would love to hear your thoughts on this as well and if you have any great advice or ideas on ways to stay on top of things during these next few months..... or ideas for fun things to do with the family or just thoughts on being more organized as the mom. I love that through blogging we can learn from each other and inspire each other to be better so share away!!

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On the note of photography sessions, I am booking my fall sessions now and I don't have a lot of spots left. It seems to fill up in the blink of an eye and I also won't be doing any sessions in December. If you have already emailed me and I haven't replied, then I do have you on the list and will be getting back to you soon!!

Also, remember I will be doing sessions in Utah next week and weekend! I may still have a spot or two left so if you are interested in those, email me quick!

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Here's a couple photographs of baby Elizabeth Kate to brighten your day! I know that she brightens our days soooooo much!!! We are enjoying every second of her!!

I can't believe how much she has already changed from these pictures!!! She is so chubby now!! I love it!

September 06, 2011

Along with the website redesign comes a new logo, new branding, new pricing for photo shoots, new photography galleries, new scrapbooking gallery, etc etc.

I worked with a company called Moselle on this and they have done a fabulous job! I can't even begin to describe how awesome it was to work with people that were able to design what I was envisioning and what feels totally and completely "me."

I am beyond excited and hope you will head on over there to check it out!

To celebrate I am also doing a giveaway today! One person will receive a spot in my next Photography 101 Online Workshop.... valued at $250.00!

To enter you will need to go to my new site, check it out and then come back here to tell me what you think! Also, you can enter more than once if you share the new site with others on your blog, facebook and/or twitter. After sharing it in one or more of those places you can come back here and enter again by telling me where you shared it! I will be back later this week to draw a winner at random!

April 07, 2011

These are from a newborn photo shoot that I did recently. He is just too sweet and I have to say that photographing him made me even more anxious to have my baby!! I simply cannot wait!!

They are only tiny like this for such a short time and it's amazing to capture it on film!!

Priceless for sure!

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Technical/Photography Info for those interested:

I used my Urban action from the Color Mix Set on these (link to my Photoshop actions is on the right).

Also I have a new beginner/intermediate photography workshop starting on Monday. There are a few spots still left if you want to hurry and jump in! This will be the last online photography class I will hold until later in the year after I have had the baby...... so if you don't want to wait until Fall, now is the time to join us. (link to the workshops page is on the right as well).

March 01, 2011

Well, I am super late in posting this but figured I would still post anyway. Emily has been sick the last two weeks - more high fevers so they sent us to the lab for some blood work and a urine test. She was not happy about the whole experience but it gave us a diagnosis and she is now finishing up her antibiotics and doing much better!! Today is her first day back at preschool after 2 weeks off. She was pretty shy and nervous to go but after multiple hugs and kisses she finally went in.

Anyway, part 2 is a recap of Emily's first Valentine's experience at school. It is always such a big and memorable event the first year they get to make cards and pass them out at school! She was talking about it for weeks before and heard the boys talking about their "lists" so she kept asking when she would get her list. When it finally came home in her backpack she was super excited. She was jumping for joy and yelling "I got my list! I got my list!". My mom, otherwise known as "Nannie" was here at our house the same day and she very patiently helped Emily fill out each and every single card, including one for herself! She insisted she had to make one for "Emily" too! So cute!

Emily's party was the day after Valentine's day because she didn't have school that day.... which meant she got her own little photo shoot of opening up her cards after school. She insisted on sitting up on the piano and each and every time she would look in her box to get out another one, she would say to me "take a picture!" Then she would hold it out to me so I could read it and tell her who it was from. At that point she would reply with things like "for cute!" or "that is darling!" or "I love it!"

Then I also took her out back for a few quick photos in her skirt and heart tights. She's definitely soooo different from my boys in that she LOVES having her picture taken on occasions like this, while the boys literally run away from me! Haha! It's like pulling teeth for them, so I have to save up and wait for the bigger holidays like Christmas and Easter!

February 11, 2011

There are so many things that this girl says that we don't ever want to forget..... ever.....

She says "I love you" and we ask "how much do you love me" and she says "right now".

She tells me "I'm the line leader" all day long and makes sure that she gets in front of me and leads the way.

She says "I call shotgun" when I pick her up from school.

She kisses my pregnant belly and says "cootchie, cootchie coo" to the baby.

She is always asking for "5 more minutes" when it is bedtime.

She still calls her favorite blanket her "green gwee gwee".

When I get ready she often tells me things like "you look fancy mom" or "you look pretty like a princess mom".

She calls her soft skinny jeans her "soffily jeans".

She touches the clothes at the store and says things like "this is goooogeous" or "this is soooo adorable".

Whenever she is talking about an event that occurred in the past, whether it was last week or a year ago she starts by saying "remember, last night, when......".

She calls cupcakes "pucakes".

She answers with a very prim and proper and ladylike "yes" rather than the slang "yeah" that the rest of us tend to use.

And my favorite right now..... She always asks for "5 kisses" from her daddy and she counts them as he kisses her. He will trick her by not making the kissing sound and then she stands back, holds her hands out in a very cute and dramatic way and says "kisssss meeeeeee!!!" I've got to get this one on video!!

She is 3 1/2, but still our baby girl princess and we adore her to pieces!!

February 09, 2011

The last few weeks I have been editing lots and lots of our personal photos. I took a TON of pictures of my kiddos up in Utah last year (in the summer and the fall) and sadly to say I am just now editing and printing them! Did I really admit that? Yes, I guess I did. You would think that I wouldn't get so behind but typically I am busy working on photos for my clients so I end up letting mine go on the back burner.

After the mad rush of CHA, I found myself with some down time and also some sick kiddos which kept us here at home for almost 2 weeks! (Yes I did get out during that time but the majority of our time was spent at home resting and snuggling and working on getting better.) While the sick ones slept I would sneak in here and work on editing my back log of photos.

I have to say that my favorite part of photography is the actual photo shoot - being out with my clients or my kids.... interacting, snapping away and capturing those moments. I don't often love the editing side of things because it tends to be the most tedious and can take lots and lots of time. However the last couple of weeks I found myself really looking forward to and enjoying these spurts of time spent on the computer working with all of these images. Maybe it is because they were from a few months back and so they brought back memories.... maybe it is because I am biased and I always think that every picture of my kids is the cutest thing in the whole wide world...... or maybe it was the excitement of having lots of new photos printed and ready to be scrapped! I don't know.... but I have really loved it!

Anyway, I still have LOTS and LOTS more photos in my back log and I will probably never ever be caught up since I am always taking more and more..... but I am happy to say that I went through a few thousand photos, did a lot of narrowing down, edited the keepers and now have hundreds of photos printed out right here next to me!! Talk about rewarding!! I LOVE it! Pictures make me happy and PRINTED pictures make me even happier!! This is a shout out to all of you that have had photo shoots done or have taken pictures of your own family but don't ever print them.... schedule out some time each month to start printing them! It is sooooo worth it! I am making a new promise to myself to keep at this project and keep working away at my back log of photos! Even if it is just one day a month or a few hours each week, I am going to make this a part of my normal routine!

Here are a few from Utah in the fall. I love doing photo shoots in Utah because there are so many amazing locations! Sadly for my kids, I can never get enough of shooting in Utah! I have been known to pull off to the side of the road at any given moment to drag them out of the car and snap some pics! If I see a spot I love, I will stop and use it!

And yes, if you are wondering..... I do pack their cutest clothes when we go up there and I do tend to color coordinate them most of the time we are on vacation because you never know when a photo-op is going to arise! Call me crazy, call me a little kooky, I just call it being prepared! :)

Also, Emily's headband is from here: Miss Ruby Sue on Etsy! She makes the most amazing things and every time I wear anything of hers I get stopped and asked about it a million times over. This is my favorite headband of hers.... Emmy and I share it. Lots of new ones that I am eyeing as well! I'm just warning you ahead of time that if you click over to her shop you will be hooked!! :)

December 10, 2010

If you took my class on photography at Creative Escape earlier this year, then you will know exactly what the title of this post means and how it relates to the photos..... more on that in a minute.

I took Emily out one HOT afternoon in September for a quick little photo shoot before the boys got out of school. We are talking around 1pm and it was boiling hot! We were only out there for 15 minutes because it was literally THAT hot! I was clicking fast I tell ya and the funny thing is that somehow I got 60 photos that I LOVE in that short amount of time! I just finally had a chance to go through them and I don't know what I am going to do with all 60 photos because I want to print every single one! I think I will have to try to narrow it down to a few big prints for the house and then I think I will make a custom little photo book with all of them. Then of course I will be printing all of them to scrapbook! I am sure you will see lots of these in the months to come on my pages for Creating Keepsakes, Studio Calico and American Crafts!

Anyway, I can't share all 60 of them in one blog post (that might be a little over indulgent anyway haha!) so I will share handfuls of them over the next few weeks. Lots of the photos are ones that take my breath away and speak to me in a way that I can't even describe to someone else. They are those photos that melt my heart and make it start pounding and make me a big ole giant mess of motherly emotions in one single instant. They are those photos that speak to me and convey "more than words can say".....

They are the photos that made me fall in love with photography in the first place. They are the photos that make me want to keep snapping away every second of every day. They are the ones that make me want to keep improving my skills so that I can continue to capture and create magic through the lens. They are the ones that make me want to share what I know and how I do it and make me thankful that I get to teach my online photography classes so I can do just that. Today I am grateful for photography and grateful for photos and grateful that I can capture these little moments so I can tuck them away to treasure forever!

December 09, 2010

Well sheesh! It is about time I shared some photos! I have been crazy crazy editing and editing my little life away these past few weeks! By now I know to expect it this time of year and I try to gear up for it but at the same time I seem to forget how super busy it can be! I become like a little hermit in here on the computer staring at all of my beautiful clients every day!

Wow, I have lots of fun shoots to share from this past couple of months and I doubt I will even get the time to post them all on here but I will try! Here are a few from a cute family that I photographed again this year. It's amazing how much this little cutie has grown since the last time I saw her!

November 30, 2010

Well, I didn't manage to get my sneaks up before the reveal so I will just share my completed layouts with you this month. Needless to say it is a crazy time of year for me and I am up to my ears in photo shoots and editing all of the pictures! And trying to hurry so that my clients will have them in time to create their Christmas cards and make any prints for gifts, etc. If you are a client waiting on your images, I am aiming to get everything done by the end of this week! Lots to do!!

Anyway, back to the Studio Calico kits! The design team seems to all agree that the kits for December are among their favorites and you can see that in the gallery because a lot of them went above and beyond making lots and lots of layouts! I still have a lot of things from these kits that I want to use and I may even be hoarding a few things (ahem.... the exclusive papers this month - all 4 of them!)

First up is this layout... You are HAPPY...

I used that fab calendar paper from the main kit Metropolitan and the Sassafras Las flower stickers. I also used some strips from the exclusive SC paper along with my favorite Dear Lizzy rose brads from American Crafts (from the Park Bench add on) and the MM butterflies from the Mass Transit add on. Since everyone always asks, I used the American Crafts Slick Writer in Fine for my journaling. Oh and I also used this Weekday Stamp Set that is new in the SC shop. This set was also a huge hit amongst us designers! So versatile, fun and just stinkin cute! It is a fave for sure and I'm actually surprised that it hasn't sold out yet! Get it while you can!!

Next up is... Believe...

I used a mix of papers, most of which can be found in the Add-On Patterned Paper in case you didn't get all the kits. Then I used a lot of things from the add on Holiday Lights (red MM buttons, the Notes SC stamp, the American Crafts Dear Lizzy Christmas brads and the MM gold foil "Believe"). I think the shiny gold stamped snowflakes are a favorite on this layout for sure! I used the SC snowflake stamp from the add on Busy Sidewalks along with the American Crafts Zing embossing powder in metallic gold! I am new to the AC embossing powders and now I think I am addicted!! They are so beautiful! You will be seeing more of that from me for sure!!

Finally is another Christmas layout.... Christmas Oranges....

I did some misting on the background on this one.... used the Maya Road Mist in Lemon and Cherry (which is not currently available on SC so you could also try the Mister Huey's in Schoolhouse or any other red that you have on hand.) I also used a mix of papers again here. Then again I used a lot from the Holiday Lights add on (MM buttons, tags, gold foil snowflake, gold foil Noel and ticket, the AC Dear Lizzy Christmas brads). Oh and I also used the Jenni Bowlin Lemon Drops paint dabber to paint the "Christmas" chipboard piece and topped it off with a couple spritzes of the Lemon Maya Road mist. And again I used the American Crafts Slick Writer in Fine for the journaling and doodling.

LIke I said I am hoarding the exclusive SC paper from this month! and did you know that they partnered with Sassafras Las to create the two extra exclusive papers? They are so beautiful! Both sides of all four papers are amazing!! The SC patterned paper is already sold out but you can get all 4 pieces in the More Patterned Paper add on still until that sells out as well! They are so yummy!

That pretty much wraps it up! Let me know if you have any questions on anything!

P.S. I heard a rumor that the first two of my online photography workshops for 2011 have been announced and that registration is open!! If you aren't on my wait list or if you thought you were and didn't get the email, let me know asap by emailing me!! Spots are filling!! maggieATmaggieholmesphotographyDOTcom

September 17, 2010

Hey there! So I know that I have been a horrible blogger lately! Lots going on so I thought I would share some of the random happenings here in our world.....

:: My adorable friend, Pam, helped me clean out my scrapbook room last week. It was much needed as I had been ignoring it and just dropping things everywhere and anywhere; making piles in every nook and cranny these last few weeks. I had a huge project for Making Memories that I created in between Creative Escape and a trip to Cali and that only added to the chaos! But it is looking good again and as the clutter clears away I find that I can start being creative again, so all is well!

:: I have been going through lots of photos from the summer and 1st day of school to print and use with my October Studio Calico kits. They are all organized and waiting on my scrap table and I am anxious to dive in. The exclusive stamps are amazing for next month so you really need to be on your game and snatch up the add-on kits before they are gone! You can check out the sneak peeks right here. I am also loving the mix tape by American Crafts that shows up in 2 of the kits!! LOVE!

:: Gearing up and getting excited for my photography sessions in Cali and Utah this fall! There are still some openings in all three locations....

Southern California - October 1st and 2nd

Utah - October 15th and 16th

Northern California - November 5th and 6th

.... so if you are interested give me a jingle (email) and we will get it all set! Thanks to my clients for scouting out some awesome new locations for me! I am getting super excited for all three places!

:: Also my fall schedule for Arizona photo shoots is filling up quickly and I can't wait to connect with past clients and meet the new families! This time of year gets crazy busy but I really love meeting up with everyone and seeing how all the kiddos have grown and changed! In addition to the regular shoots, I have some days set aside for mini sessions here in the phoenix valley as well so if you that's more your style we can fit you in! And in case you haven't heard I have brand new pricing for this fall which I think you will love!! Give me a shout and I will share the details!

:: Emily Jane is killing me lately (in a good way) with the hilarious things she says....

Every day when I pick her up from school she says "I call shot gun mom."

The other day when I asked her to get me a diaper and wipes she came back and said "I got a diaper but I can't find the wipes. But don't worry mom, you can just betend (pretend) you have the wipes." seriously! yuck! And btw, yes she is 3+ and isn't potty trained... please don't judge.... I am trying but she wants NOTHING to do with it!

:: The boys have all started soccer and they are loving it! It's Nathan's first time officially playing on a team sport and he is over the moon excited and feeling super big! He got his uniform last night and was smiling from ear to ear! He also wants to know if Emily can be a cheerleader for him during his games!

:: Edited this newborn photo shoot that I did recently. He was a little bit older and I was nervous he would cooperate but he did really great! He was awake the entire time which is different than most newborn shoots I do, but man his eyes are beautiful so it worked out perfectly! I LOVE doing newborn shoots in an outdoor setting like this.

On a side note I have never laughed so hard or had so much fun on a newborn photo shoot before! Who knew that this tiny little guy could be so funny and entertaining without even knowing it! Thanks for a great time Michell and baby! Enjoy!

:: And finally a question for all of you stampers and scrapbookers out there. If you have a great solution for storing your clear stamps, please share! I have tried a few different things and none of them have worked very well for me. I am looking to change it up and mainly need them to be easy to access and browse through so that I will use them more!! Help!

August 11, 2010

I simply cannot believe she is 3 years old already! She is all girl - full of sweetness, cuteness, drama, sass, giggles.... you name it! She loves everything pink and anything related to baby dolls, princesses, dress up, make up, and lipstick.

She also loves to sing. She sings to us ALL the day long every single day. She will sing songs that are real songs like "Twinkle Twinkle" and "I am a Child of God" and then she will also make up her own songs as she goes along. Those ones will sometimes last for a LONG time..... she looks around the room as she sings and adds in whatever she can think of. They often sound something like this:

"I am so cute and beautiful and my mom is so beautiful and cuuuuuuuute..... My daddy is coming home and he will get me and he will stay home with me for the whole day and he will never leave again ever my life......... etc etc etc." It is quite amusing and very endearing. I can sit and listen/watch her do this for hours! Sometimes one song will literally last 15 minutes!

How can you not feel great about yourself when she is around? :) Oh, I just adore her!

Needless to say we had a PINK birthday party for her. She called it her "pink princess party" and we are still talking about it. She thinks she is going to have it again every day. Her favorite things were all the jewelry and lip gloss and of course the pink frosting! Oh, and I think she also liked the fact that everyone was doting over her.

I love fussing over all of the party decorations and I tend to go all out, but hey it only comes around once a year! I spent the day making the decorations and the cupcakes and getting it all set up - so fun!

This next photo is one of my favorites from the day because of the expression on Matthew's face. He is always soooooo into birthday parties, even if they aren't his and it's all he can do to resist from jumping in and opening up the presents for the birthday girl/boy. In fact before this shot was taken we had to kindly remind him numerous times to step back and let her do it on her own. So I love this shot because you can see how excited and happy is for her - such a proud big brother standing over there looking over her and being there to help her but also doing a great job of not taking over and doing it all for her. So sweet!

All three of her big brothers and her cousin Sadie surrounding her and "oohing" and "aaahhing" over each little thing!

Lots of kisses for my Mimi as usual!

And a couple shots we took outside before the party started.

This is her best picture taking face lately..... she sees the camera and pulls out her biggest, cheesiest, squinty-eyed smile that she can possibly muster! We adore this look too!!

July 15, 2010

I found myself looking back at some old photos tonight and can't get over how much Emily Jane has grown this last year! I took these almost a year ago and can't believe how much she has changed!

She just turned three this week and while I love the age she is at now and I adore everything about her right now, I also can't stand the fact that another year is gone and she is turning into a little girl.

It's one of those things that I have a hard time figuring out in life... always looking forward with excitement about growth and change and what lies ahead and yet always feeling equally sad about how quickly it all gets left in the past and wishing I could somehow slow it all down or even freeze us in time.

I guess that's what a picture does -- freezes things for us in a sense so that we can look back and remember.... but I can't get over the longing to be able to jump back there for a little while... just for a bit -- to squeeze those cheeks that are not looking quite as chubby lately... or to have her be excited and anxious about holding my hand while crossing the street instead of wanting to run off ahead.... or just to sit and be with her -- taking it all in, soaking it all up, savoring and treasuring every single second and making sure that I would know how quickly the moment would be gone.

July 04, 2010

Hi there! We are finally back home from a long and super fun vacation (with some photography work mixed in). I absolutely LOVE Utah this time of year. The weather is beautiful (except when it was raining almost every day for the first week) and it is a photographer's dream because there are a ton of beautiful and fun spots to shoot at! I took my kiddos out multiple times to take pictures of them and to justify it I had to keep reminding them and everyone that once I return to Arizona, the outdoor, on-location photo shoots will literally come to a halt because it is sooooo hot here right now! So, my kids were actually quite good at cooperating.... but probably because they knew they would be off the hook for a while!

Well.... off the hook for the more formal planned photo shoots that I love to do with them. Of course they know that I will still be taking tons of candid shots of them as per usual! :) They are never completely off the hook right? Especially since we have 3 birthdays this month -- Tyler's, Emily's and mine! Which means lots of festivities! Not to mention the fact that it is summer so we will be doing more fun things than usual!

Anyway, I will definitely be sharing lots of the Utah pictures in the weeks to come but for now I wanted to answer some questions that I have been receiving about my Advanced Photography class that I teach online. I have been getting lots of emails lately with the same questions so I figured it would be best to answer them here where you can all get access to the info!

>> Yes, the class that starts this month (July 19th) will be the LAST Advanced course I will offer this year. I have a Beginner course scheduled for August and then I may or may not teach one more beginner class. But this will definitely be the last Advanced for the year. So... that means if you want to take it, sign up now! I would hate for you to miss out if you are planning to take it this year.

>> If you don't make it into this next class, you can definitely be added to the wait list by emailing me. As soon as I open up the dates for 2011, the wait list will be the first to know and will receive priority registration before it is opened up to the public.

>> The detailed week-by-week course outline can be found here on my photography workshops page. There are also some more question/answers at this same link. The outline spells out everything we will cover during the course of the workshop.

>> I do teach the editing portion of the class based upon what I do and what makes up my workflow. I use Lightroom and Photoshop and so those are the platforms that I teach from. If you have Photoshop Elements you will not be able to do every single function that I am able to do in Photoshop. However, you will be able to do a lot of the things and some things you can do but just a bit differently. Also, what has worked well for many of my past students is that they downloaded the free trial of Photoshop right before the editing portion of the class. That way you can follow along with everything I do and then decide if it is worth the investment for you or if you want to just stick with PSE. We also have an invaluable private message board where those with PSE can share info and tips/tricks for completing the steps that I do in Photoshop (since sometimes the functions and/or location of things is different in PSE).

>> Yes, I do really share all of my insider tips and tricks as to how I edit my photos. I share my complete workflow from start to finish and I share things like my sharpening methods, how to add in a fake blue sky, how to edit back-lit images, etc.

Here is a good example of an image that shows a lot of the things I teach in class....

This is the "before" image that is SOOC (straight out of camera):

And here is the image after my editing (using techniques that are all taught in the Advanced class):

Here is a shot with the two images side by side so you can see the before/after a little better:

And here's a brief run down of what I did:

Adjusted white balance in Lightroom, Ran a noise reduction filter, Added a fake blue sky, Selectively lightened the front of his face to even out the lighting a bit and bring more life to his eyes since it was back lit, Ran one of my actions, Darkened and popped the colors in the image selectively so as not to make the subject look unnatural, Sharpened and resized

Again, that is in a nutshell and all of those things are explained in detail in the class. I have also added video tutorials to my Advanced Workshop in which I show you step by step how to do many of the more difficult techniques. They have been a huge added bonus to the class which all of my students have loved and found very valuable!

And to answer a couple final questions...

>> The link to register for the next class is found on my Workshops Page. There are still some spots left so if you want to join us, we would love to have you.

>> I will definitely be sharing feedback from past students. I have been compiling the emails and notes I have received and they will be a part of my new website (which is in the works!). For now to sum it up I would say that my students who have been looking to go pro have found the class very helpful and an invaluable resource in that aspect. Also those not looking to go pro have loved it equally as much just for the sheer knowledge of being able to edit their photos and really take them to the next level. If you are looking to create the images that you see on photographer's websites, then you are in the right place. I do share all of my techniques that get you from that SOOC image to one that is worthy of blowing up really big to display in your home!

I hope that covers it all! If you are still wondering about anything, just email me! See you in class!

May 17, 2010

For some reason my next Beginner/Intermediate Online Photography Class is filling up fast!! It is almost full already which means that if you want to get in, you will need to sign up quickly! Don't wait!

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I've been busy with Senior Photo shoots recently -- It's that time of year. I love photographing seniors!!

Here are a few that I don't think I have shared yet... more to come!

I seriously have soooo many favorites from her session! I will have to break it up... I'll be back!

April 04, 2010

Hi! Just popping in to say that I hope you all had a great day today! I love Easter! Such a great time to reflect and focus on Christ and be with family. I love it!

We also had General Conference this weekend so we watched that as well. Lots of great messages about parenting this time and it was a good reminder for me to keep a strong focus on being as good of a mother as I can possibly be! There is always room for improvement and I am inspired to step it up a notch and switch around some of my priorities. The last thing I want to do is look back after my children are grown and gone and feel like I didn't do enough or that I didn't spend enough time just being with them and making sure they know I love and adore them!

On another note Emily Jane is obsessed with bunny rabbits lately! She found and fell in love with a particular "bunny book" that we have and has since gathered quite a collection of books with bunnies in them - both from books we already had and a few new ones as well. She HAS to sleep with them every night and literally sleeps with them all over her. If I try to go in and move them she will wake up and say "My bunny book, my bunny book" in complete distress.

Then since the stores have been stocked full of all kinds of bunnies for Easter she has also acquired a small collection of stuffed bunnies as well. My mom bought her one and then we have bought her a few little ones over the last few weeks as well..... just establishing the basis for the next part of the story.

Anyway, last week my sister in law and I saw a sign on the road that said "bunnies for sale or rent" and we decided it would be perfect for a little photo shoot given Emily's love of bunnies! The next day we had our daughters dressed up and ready to go along with a quilt and a beautiful location. We stopped by and picked up two white bunnies on the way and we were in business. It was great!

As we figured she would be, Emily was actually quite scared or "gared" in her words of the live bunnies. She would only dare touch them when they were sitting and not moving. As soon as they would jump or start to move at all she would start squealing and get "gared" again. Then at one point she also named the one with darker ears "the blue one bunny" and she decided she didn't like it. So she would say "I don't like that blue one bunny" and cry until we got it off the blanket. She is a nut!! (At almost 3 she still doesn't know her colors except for pink even though we have tried and tried to teach her.... but that is another story.)

February 11, 2010

Thought I would answer some questions that were asked about my Studio Calico layouts.

keri said...

so cute. as always. love all the colors. and the tidbits. you've really helped teach me how to make use of all my scrap pieces. i was just wondering about the heart pieces you used on the "us" layout. the tape piece (at least i think it's tape) and the heart keylock. i can't seem to find them as part of any SC kit. then again, maybe i'm not looking hard enough.

The heart keylock is a new Martha Stewart punch that I just got! It punches out a little key too! So cute! The strip of hearts in the middle of the page is a piece that I cut from one of the papers in the kit. It's on the back of one of the papers so that's why you couldn't find it. It is in the Add On Patterned Paper kit (still available here). It is the back of the My Mind's Eye be loved Sweet Hearts paper.

LindaC said...

love, love, love these layouts and would LOVE some info about the dotted line journaling stamp. Your work is fab and i am a big fan!

It's beginning to annoy me that your misting always looks so great and mine just looks like I let my two year old loose with paint. :) Is there a secret to it that I'm not getting? Really, your layouts look fab!

When I started reading this comment I got a little scared.... wondering how I annoyed you! :) But then I felt better after reading the whole comment! haha! You are sweet! I think the key is to go easy with it and spray it lightly from further away. I always start light and then add more if I want it darker. I also typically spray it on an angle rather than straight on. Hope that helps!

Let me know if you have any other questions! And just because posts are boring without a photo I will share a couple more of Emily from her Christmas dress shoot!

February 09, 2010

I took Emily out one morning last week so I could get some pictures of her in her Christmas dress or her "Chris Chris dress" as she calls it. Things like Christmas dresses just seem more cute and more sweet when they are little like this. I didn't get the chance to do this in December but knew that I would regret not taking her out so I figured that February is just as good in the grand scheme of things! Right?

She is definitely at a difficult age for taking pictures... not as anxious to sit still and smile for me as she once was! :) But, I took my best assistant, Matthew, and together we got some fun shots! He is great at holding my reflector and also getting her to be happy or to giggle when the time is right! (He can make anyone smile with his cute personality!)

I have been dying to edit these and couldn't wait any longer so I pulled one into Photoshop tonight and ran one of my actions super quick. I know I always say it but I simply can't get enough of her. I have lots more to play around with and can't wait to print the photos so I can start scrapping them!! It makes it even more fun when you have pictures that you love and are anxious to work with!!

P.S. My March beginner/intermediate Photography Workshop is filling up quickly! If you want a spot, don't wait to register!! I always feel so bad after they fill up and I get emails from people saying that they waited too long and didn't get in! Will also be announcing the next Advanced Workshop soon. If you are on the waiting list, you will get first priority so watch for the email!

January 04, 2010

Hi there! Happy Monday! It's a brand new week and a brand new year! I am super excited fortwenty tenand all that it has in store! I have been going through my calendar this morning doing some planning and looking at some deadlines (for something that I am doing later this year that I am dying to share with you but can't yet).I can already feel the excitement of creativity and new adventures and can tell it is going to be a great year!

I am looking forward to the start of a brand new advanced photography workshop that starts next month and am humbled at the amazing response I have had so far. There are just a couple of spots left for the February start date and I am looking at the calendar to set dates for another one.

I also just opened up registration for my next beginner/intermediate class which will run from March 15th - April 24th. (registration link here)

Starting a new class today with a great group and looking forward to getting to know all of them better on the message board and seeing them go through the journey from shooting in auto to shooting completely in manual in just a few short weeks! That is the one thing I will never tire of -- seeing the quick progress that the students make and also hearing their excitement and surprise at how quickly they are able to make the jump into full manual mode! It is so rewarding as a teacher to see your students succeed and accomplish their goals!! I truly love it! (If you are signed up for the current class and haven't received an email from me, please email me asap! Remember that the only email I have is the one linked to your paypal account unless you have notified me otherwise.)

On another note I just want to say thank you to all of my blog readers, clients, students and friends for making 2009 such a fabulous year! I truly appreciate all of you and am amazed all the time at your kindness, your sweet comments and emails, your support and friendship and the simple fact that you keep coming back to share this wonderful journey with me! I want to make sure you all know that I truly appreciate you and your support! Thank you!

Lots of shoots that I still need to showcase from the past few months.... here is one to get us started:

What do you think? Aren't they the cutest family? And I was in love with their outfits and the truck that they lined up for us to use! It was such a fun shoot!! I still have some more to share from this one but thought I would break it up... more to come! I am off to try to make a dent in this scrapbook room/office of mine. It is quite a disaster and is in some serious need of cleaning and organization. I guess you could say that is number one on my to-do list for the year! Have a great Monday!

November 18, 2009

Such a gorgeous page using the collection! I love the mirrors in your family room too!! Thank you for the chance to win this amazing collection! xo

Congrats Didee!

Email me your info and we will get the Home Front collection sent out to you! I know you will love it!

Thanks to everyone for all of the really sweet comments about our family room and the mirrors! Who knew that you all would love those mirrors so much! :) To answer your questions -- The mirrors are from Ikea and I believe they still have them. And they weren't too hard to hang actually... lots of measuring and checking all of my marks with the level before I actually hung them to make sure they would be straight and even. And if you can believe it I hung them by myself! It was a little scary up there on the ladder but you see I have this flaw in my personality where once I decide I want to do something I have no patience and I want it done NOW because I get too excited, which usually means that I don't even wait for my husband to get home to help me.... and you think I would learn my lesson but I keep doing it -- like when I hung the cabinets in my scrapbook room by myself and when I put up the tile backsplash in our kitchen.... I must be a glutton for punishment or maybe I just need to learn a little patience! :) Silly me!

I am super busy editing photos trying to catch up and get everyone's proofs done... I will try to post sneak peeks as I go! Here are a few from a newborn shoot I did last week.... 2 adorable little girls!

(All four photos edited with my Urban Action at different opacities from the Color Mix Set.)

Oh and one more thing.... Have you seen the sneak peeks for December's kits over at Studio Calico? I just finished up my project using the Woodwinds project kit.... If you like the Making Memories Vintage Findings products then you will love this kit! At first I wasn't sure what I would do but I love how it turned out! Can't wait to share the whole thing with you! Here is a little peek....

Oops, I know I said one more thing but there is actually something else I just thought of.... I am working on some upcoming tutorials for Studio Calico and would love your input. Is there anything that you would like to see a tutorial on? It can be something you have seen me do on a layout or a project or something photography related or even something that you haven't seen me do. What techniques are you dying to try or would like more info about? Let me know by posting your comment here and your ideas may just turn into a tutorial! Thanks in advance! Can't wait to hear from you! Have a great day!!

November 03, 2009

I know it sounds a little cheesy but there are some people you just instantly connect with and the session feels more like a reunion with old friends than "working" with someone I have never met.

This was one of those sessions for me.... I could have spent all day with them.

Sorry for the image overload! :) I just have too many favorites! How is your week going so far? It is crazy busy around here as I jumped right back into an insanely full schedule and am also trying to catch up on everything I missed while being gone to Africa. If you emailed me in the last few weeks and I haven't replied, please don't hesitate to email me again. It could take me quite a while to sift back through my very full inbox and I don't want to miss anybody!

In workshop news, my January beg/intermediate online photography workshop is filling up very quickly. If you are interested in joining me for the first class in 2010, please don't wait to register. Of course, there will be others next year but if you are counting on taking that first one I would recommend registering now! I will also be announcing the dates for the advanced workshop soon.... still trying to work out some of the details. I will be emailing those on the waiting list with the chance to register first before I open it to everyone. If you have already emailed me then you are on the list. I haven't been responding to those emails but just know that you are on there. If you have left a comment on my blog or on the message board of my current workshop, then I can't guarantee that you are on the list, so please make sure you email me directly to get on it.

I think that's it for now. I am off to get some more things done before the kiddos get home from school!

October 07, 2009

Busily trying to keep up with editing around here.... I try to give a sneak peek to every family but as we all know, that doesn't happen every time (especially this time of year). Some families will see their images for the first time when I present their entire online gallery.... Sorry I don't have time to give sneaks to everyone... and thanks for being patient!! I have the BEST clients!!

As usual, I am loving editing the images from my Utah mini sessions. I think it is safe to say I am in love with Utah photo shoots.... it's really a shame I can't go up there more often!

I adored this cute family (and actually I adored all of the families I got to work with).... didn't I say I have the BEST clients?? :) Jenni and I were actually friends in high school but I didn't know it was her until I got to the shoot and recognized her. It was great to see her all these years later with her beautiful family. I wish we could have chatted more and caught up a bit but I was too busy snapping away with these cute kiddos....

I guess that was a little more than a sneak peek.... I couldn't resist! That first one of the kids is my fave!! I heart little girls in hats! It is just too cute!!

Thanks for stopping by! Hope you are all having a great week! We got our fall/halloween decorations up this week and so it finally feels a little fallish around here. We are trying to get to the pumpkin patch soon too since Brian and I will be in Africa later this month! Lots to do before then and lots of fun things I want to do with the kids while they are on fall break........I am feverishly working to tackle my to-do list and I have to say we are making good progress!

September 21, 2009

Hi there! This time of year gets so crazy for me so I promise to try to keep up with the blog....... but if I go missing here and there, you will know that I am just busy shooting, editing, designing Christmas cards, etc. The schedule is already almost full and I always get so excited because I get to see all of my past clients that I photograph around this time each year. It is great to catch up and see how the little ones have changed. I also look forward to meeting all of my new families and to making new friendships!

A couple of weeks ago during one of my mini shoots I got to meet this little sweetheart and she was an angel! I love photographing babies this age..... but then again I think I love photographing babies of any age! :) I think the photos speak for themselves - and her eyes really are that beautiful. I didn't do any special editing to them... (just a little color pop and my urban action like I usually do).

Aren't those just the cutest little legs and shoes? I could almost have another baby just to be able to use all of the tiny little shoes again! I adore them!!

I am packing my bags and heading up to Utah this weekend for some more mini photo shoots up there! I loved shooting up there in July and I can't wait to go back! There are just so many neat places there! It's a photographer's paradise for me! I have had some spots open up so if you are interested we can still get you in! Just email me (maggie[at]maggieholmesphotography[dot]com).

Also, if you are a photographer or an aspiring photographer (or if you just want to take better pictures of your kids) and you are interested in booking a one-on-one mentoring session with me, I am open to doing a couple of those while I am there as well. It would basically be you and me and our cameras and we can customize the content of the session to fit your needs and what you are wanting to learn -- we can cover anything from camera settings to photoshop to lighting, posing, whatever. Email me and we can go over all the details.

I am considering doing one more day of mini photography sessions here in AZ before the year is over but it depends on the interest and how the dates work out. So... if you are interested in that please email me and we can chat. If I get enough interest we will put it on the schedule!

And finally, I am heading to South Africa the end of October to teach at the Aquila Scrapbooking Xtravaganza! I am excited and a little nervous and still trying to finalize my classes and get all of the details put together. I have never been out of the country and I feel so blessed to have the opportunity..... it is still crazy to me that my little scrapbooking hobby gives me the chance to experience things like this!! If anybody has any tips for me I am all ears!! I am going to be so stressed packing for this trip! I have a hard time packing to go to Utah for 2 days, let alone Africa!!

Looking forward to meeting some new clients this weekend... fun families + a fun location + some fun props = a happy photographer! I know we are going to have a lot of fun!

Here are a few more shots from my Utah Mini Sessions... still more to share from these... slowly but surely I will get to all of them! :)

love the drool on this one! so cute and so accurately represents that age!

this one is my fave... love his eyes and his expression and those perfect little lips!

no actually, i think this one is my favorite... normally you would think this image might be an outtake but i captured it on purpose when dad was helping him to get his hands in his pockets and get all set to go and i truly love it... i love that it depicts a loving father being right there to jump in and help his son out... teaching him and showing him how to do something new and making things just right!

There are also still some spots available for the Utah mini sessions that I am doing later in September (can't believe that September is already here btw! eek!!!)..... If you are interested in those, all of the details are here. Hope you are having a great week so far! Thanks for stopping by!

August 20, 2009

well I honestly can't even finish the sentence... she just means so much to me that I don't have the words to explain it... and it's not that I don't adore my boys because I do and nothing can replace those relationships between mother and son, but she melts me in a completely different way... a sweet and sassy and cute and spoiled rotten with girlie things kind of way... it is just awesome and seriously indescribable.

This last one just gets me... right there... and literally chokes me up for the words to describe how much I adore her. She is why I can't focus on scrapbooking or editing photos lately except when she is asleep because I literally can't stop squeezing and kissing those cheeks and cuddling her and playing dollies with her and following her around in her "ship shops" (flip flops) and "oh piffy cutes" (oh pretty cutes -- necklaces and bracelets and bows)... I will have countless days in the future when she is grown up and gone to scrapbook the days away and edit photos but I will not have unlimited days of enjoying this... they go too quickly and are too precious and I don't want to miss one of them...

August 17, 2009

Still have lots more pictures to share from my last round of Utah Mini Photography Shoots. Loved all the color in their clothing. In fact, I am actually related to them so I got to help style their shoot! :) I love helping with clothing choices so please don't hesitate to ask when you book a shoot with me!

And here's a funny little story that I have to share because it helps to reiterate what I am always trying to explain to my clients: that color is good and you don't all have to match... you just have to "go" and pretty much any color in the rainbow "goes" so that means anything goes in my book and the more color the better! When we were picking clothes and styling their shoot they kept asking if I was sure it wasn't too much color and if I was sure it would all look ok together and I just kept telling them to trust me. Fast forward to the day of their shoot... it was my last one for that day and so it was right at sunset which meant that there were a bunch of other photographers there at the same time doing shoots also. A couple of the other families made comments to my clients (as we were walking past them) how much they loved their outfits and how colorful they were. The other families that were making the comments were all wearing plain and/or dark clothing with little or no color. And it is not that they all didn't look nice too but it was pretty apparent that they wished they had worn more color after seeing how cute my clients looked in all of their bright clothes.

Anyway, I was so glad they trusted me because their pictures turned out so cute! I love the way the color pops against the more neutral backgrounds and it really makes them stand out instead of blending into the landscape! So, here's to color and to wearing lots of it for your photo shoots! Bring it on people!! :)

Happy Monday! Hope you are all having a good one! Be back soon with more to share!

August 06, 2009

Recognize these three little guys? When I was back up in Utah a couple of weeks ago I managed to fit in a few photo shoots of my own kids. Tried some ideas that I have wanted to do for awhile. It's amazing how a few bottles of soda can really get them having so much fun! I love to capture pictures like this of my kids where they become unaware of me and the camera and they are just laughing and being silly and being themselves! And I can't say enough of how much I love all those Utah locations! Going through all these photos is getting me so excited to go back!

Happy Thursday! We are still in our p.j.'s around here... just taking it easy today and spending lots of time cuddling on the couch with my two youngest... lately I have been thinking a lot about how they grow up too fast and how I can't stand the thoughts of missing out on any of this snuggle time! I love it!

(Actions Used: Can you guess?? Used my urban action on this one...along with some other color tweaking. The urban one is definitely my favorite lately!)

August 05, 2009

I still have lots more to share from all of my fun and fabulous families that signed up for my Utah Mini Photography Sessions last month. Those of you that scrapbook probably recognize this adorably cute and fashionable family... Elizabeth Kartchner: love her fashion sense and love her scrapbooking work... and her blog is lots of fun too! And to top it off she really is a sweetheart and a great friend!

I have lots of faves from this session... I am still dying over all the amazing locations in Utah!

Can't wait to go back this fall!! (yes that is a hint that I will be going back to do more mini shoots... dates will be announced very very soon. I already have a list of interested families and they will get the first dibs on the time slots so if you are interested, email me today!)

(actions used: I used my urban photoshop action on all of these at varying levels of opacity)

Here are a couple more sneaks from my Utah Mini Sessions... So many favorites from these sessions! I have the best clients! :)

Aren't these two boys just the cutest! I adore them!!

Sorry about being missing here on the blog lately. My sweet aunt passed away recently so we took an unexpected trip back up to Utah for her funeral last week. I am working hard to get caught up on everything but I will keep sharing more so check back soon!

July 10, 2009

Just a little sneak peek for Christine.... she has been waiting so patiently since I left town right after this shoot. Photographing these little ones really makes me start wanting another one! I can't believe that my little baby will be 2 this weekend!!

June 17, 2009

Loved this couple and the location. They were a lot of fun and were troopers about braving the Arizona heat! It was HOT that day!! I can't really choose any favorites so I will just share a bunch!

(Photoshop Actions used: Pretty sure I used most of my actions on these - especially Urban and the Simple Color Boost and Sun Kissed. If you are wondering about a specific image and the opacity I set the action to, just email me.)

June 12, 2009

Are you sick of all of this yet? :) I promise it will all be over soon and the actions will be available to purchase! Thanks for being patient!!

For now I have one more tester/winner. Still waiting to hear back from some of the new people so if I don't hear back from them soon, I will pick some more new ones again. So, there still may be a chance that you get picked... if you have entered, keep checking back to see if you got it! Until I officially announce that I am done testing, I still might pick you... I will keep picking until I hear back for each set.

Version 7.0

Color Set

Kathleen Kraft said...

okay so if no one else wants to try PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE pick me...I have been checking daily and so sad when they were not up and then the ONE DAY I do not check you post a chance to try it....and actually i want these so bad for the fathers day presents and my niece's graduation...(can you see me on my knees and begging....) oaky..I'd be happy to help! (PSE7)

Ok, I am back with a few new winners to fill in my missing spots. I added the new entries to the pot and here are the winners. Again, please email me asap and I will send you the actions to try out for me. If you can please try them and get back to me by tonight or tomorrow morning that would be fabulous! Thanks so much!!

June 11, 2009

i still haven't heard from a few of the winners of the actions... which leaves me wondering why you would enter a contest and then not check back to see if you won... except that is precisely something that i would do and so i completely understand... we all know that life is busy and crazy and all of that...

but at the same time, i am trying to stay on a schedule so that i can get the actions ready to go for all of you that are so patiently waiting... and so, i am forced to announce that if i don't hear from you by noon tomorrow arizona time (whatever time that may be for you i have no idea... for some reason time zones always confuse me) i will have to go ahead and choose another winner to fill your spot...

so, if you entered and didn't win and you are reading this now, please know that i may be picking some new winners tomorrow and i will post them here so please oh please just check back again (after noon) to see if you are one of the new winners!

also, if you didn't enter and you want to now, you can leave a comment on this post with your version of PSE and i will add you to the drawing. be sure to leave it on this post and not the other one because i won't be going back and reprinting those comments - just new ones that are left here to add to the ones i already have printed... make sense? good!

and finally I had quite a few people ask if my regular Photoshop actions are compatible with CS4, and the answer is YES! they are!! yeah!! i just need to update the info!

June 10, 2009

Sending out a HUGE thank you to all of you for being so willing to help me test these out! I am excited that you are all so excited and I really do appreciate the help!

I printed all of the comments, cut them each into strips and then sorted them all into bags according to which version of PSE you have. Then I drew a person from each version to test each of the sets. (Sheesh that is a tongue twister!) Anyway, here are the winners/testers:

PSE 7.0

Color Set

MIchele P said...

I have photoshop elements 7 for my PC and would love the opportunity to test them out!

OH MY! I am jumping up and down right now with excitement! I have Photoshop Elements 7 for PC and have been waiting for these! (Currently use your other color boost actions and LOVE them!) Wouldn't mind one bit to test them out for you;)

Yes, I agree with the other comments. Thanks for helping us Elements fans out! I have Lightroom 2.3 and Elements 6.0 (PC)and am really happy with both and have been holding out not to have to upgrade to Photoshop CS3 or 4 (because of cost). Actions for Elements would be AWESOME!

Hi Maggie, looks like you've already got a ton of volunteers, but I would love to help out if you need it! I have PSE 5 (on a pc.) I'm so excited that they're available, I can't wait to use them! Color Pop here I come!!!

June 08, 2009

I am just about ready to release all three of my Photoshop Actions for Elements: Versions 5.0, 6.0 and 7.0 and 6.0 for Mac! I know that so many of you have been waiting very patiently for these and so I am really excited to finally have them done!

I would love to have them tested on each of the versions one more time before I officially release them... so if you have one of the above PSE versions and you would like to test them, please leave a comment here on this blog post with the version of PSE that you have. So, basically I am giving away each of the sets for each of the versions... now that is a lot of actions and a lot of chances to get your hands on one of them for free!! I will pick different people to test each set within each version -- so more than 4 people will get the actions. I hope that makes sense! I will pick all the "winners" at random tomorrow evening so as long as you get your comment in, you will have a chance to get your hands on one of the sets.

If you are chosen, the only thing I ask is that you promptly load the actions and run them and please let me know back ASAP if they worked ok and if not, any errors that you encountered. Please follow the instructions carefully and exactly and again, note if any corrections/edits need to be made so that it makes more sense. I will need all the test runs to be completed and detailed responses emailed back to me by Wednesday evening, so if you are unable to comply with this timeline, please do not enter the drawing.